Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) has supported establishment of State Innovation Hubs within National Health Missions and ensuring a structured institutionalised mechanism in the public health system. In this regards, operational guidelines for State Innovation Hubs with NHM have been released by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. In this regards, National Health Mission (NHM), Jammu & Kashmir organized two divisional-level orientation-cum-sensitization workshops.
The workshop was conducted with technical assistance from NIPI and held in Srinagar on 18th March 2025 and in Jammu on 20th March 2025, with the primary objective of strengthening the capacity of district health officials in identifying best practices and drafting proposals for innovative public health initiatives.

The Srinagar workshop was chaired by the Mission Director, NHM J&K, while the Jammu workshop was presided over by the Director General, Planning, NHM J&K. Both events were co-chaired by the respective Director Health Services, Kashmir and Jammu.
Over 200 health officials from across all 20 districts of the Union Territory including State, District, and Block health officials, State and Divisional Nodal Officers of NHM, Program Managers, District Program Managers, and M&E Officers participated in the twin workshops.
In his keynote address, the Mission Director, NHM J&K, emphasized the importance of recognizing and documenting health sector innovations that enhance service delivery at the grassroots level. He urged district and block officials to identify both the challenges and opportunities that can drive innovative practices and underlined NHM’s commitment to fostering a culture of local ownership through innovation.
The workshops featured in depth sessions on the structure and function of Innovation Hubs, their operationalization, challenges in implementing innovations, evaluation frameworks, proposal writing, and innovation documentation.
Technical sessions were conducted by Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, Divisional Nodal Officer (NHM J&K), Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed Bhat, Director-NIPI, Dr. Neha Dhumka, Lead Consultant, National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), Dr. Arshid Nazir, State Program Lead-J&K NIPI. 
The workshop marks a significant step toward institutionalizing innovation at the state level and building a robust ecosystem that supports scalable, community-rooted solutions in public health.